Enhancement of bone regeneration with the combination of platelet-rich fibrin and synthetic graft

• Published in: The Journal of craniofacial surgery Vol. 25; no. 6; pp. 2164 - 2168
• Main Authors: Nacopoulos, Cleopatra, Dontas, Ismene, Lelovas, Pavlos, Galanos, Antonis, Vesalas, Anna-Maria, Raptou, Panagiota, Mastoris, Michael, Chronopoulos, Eustathios, Papaioannou, Nikolaos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-11-2014
• Subjects: Animals; Blood Platelets - physiology; Bone Density - drug effects; Bone Density - physiology; Bone Regeneration - drug effects; Bone Regeneration - physiology; Bone Substitutes - therapeutic use; Ceramics; Dentistry; Femur - surgery; Fibrin - therapeutic use; Hydroxyapatites - therapeutic use; Male; Models, Animal; Osteogenesis - drug effects; Osteogenesis - physiology; Rabbits; Random Allocation; Time Factors; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Wound Healing - drug effects; Wound Healing - physiology
• ISSN: 1049-2275; 1536-3732
• DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000001172

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a relatively new developed platelet concentrate with several benefits over platelet-rich plasma. The aim of this study was to compare healing properties of PRF and its combination with a ceramic synthetic material (graft) composed of hydroxyapatite and b-tricalcium phosphate in an animal model.
A bone deficit was surgically created in each femoral condyle of 15 New Zealand white rabbits. In each animal, 1 limb had (a) PRF only and the other (b) PRF plus synthetic graft material randomly implanted. Experimental animals were killed 3 months postoperatively. Histological and radiological examinations were made by means of computed tomography and peripheral quantitative computed tomography.
Mean density of the healed bone was statistically significantly greater when synthetic material was used (P < 0.0005). Moreover, combination of PRF with the synthetic material resulted in more cortical and subcortical bone formation (P = 0.038 and P = 0.037, respectively).
The addition of the ceramic material significantly increased the formation of new bone, providing a better substrate for bone regeneration.